A Stranger
by xMidnight Muse
Summary: There's nothing like coming home to feel like a stranger...Post LWW


Susan clambered out of the wardrobe, landing with Edmund's elbow jabbed in to her stomach and Peter on top of her; Lucy was somewhere off to his left. The wind rushed out of her lungs as soon as they hit the floor, with a resounding _thud, _leaving her gasping for air as she struggled to push Peter off of her.

But her struggle ended almost immediately when she took in her siblings' appearances. Lucy looked extremely young and childish, no older than 11; Edmund had shrunk several inches (if not a foot or two) and his face had regained it's boyish features; and Peter had lost all facial hair and height, looking not a day older than 17. She felt her breath hitch in her throat, not daring to look down at her own appearance.

Her reverie was broken when the sound of footsteps sounded a few feet from them. Susan glanced up to see a kind, familiar old face staring down at them, a twinkle in his eyes. It took a few moments to register him as that professor she and the others had lived with years ago before that day with the wardrobe. Her brow furrowed – that was such a long time ago; decades in the very least. Yet, the professor didn't look as though he had aged a day.

"What were you all doing in the wardrobe?" he asked them, a small smile playing on his lips. Peter glanced at his siblings, taking in the same appearances Susan had moments before. With wide eyes, he turned back to the professor, noting that none of us seemed to be able to speak.

"You wouldn't believe us if we told you, sir" he responded, seemingly snapping back in to the position of a boy speaking to an elder. The word sounded foreign on his tongue though, hardly ever having to use formalities except with other royals (not including his siblings).

The professor almost smirked at Peter's words as he tossed a ball wordlessly towards the group of children. It very nearly hit Edmund in the head, but the eldest picked it out of the air without a second thought, giving the old man an odd look.

"Try me" were his last words before giving the foursome another cryptic smile and walking out of the room, leaving behind a quartet of extremely bewildered kings and queens.

They sat in a silence, each observing each other and the surroundings with disbelieving eyes.

"Please tell me we're dreaming" the silence was broken by the quite whimper of the youngest. The older three snapped their heads to look at Lucy, who was observing her hands carefully, a grave look etched across her features – one that seemed unfitting on the face of a mere 11 year old.

It seemed at this point that reality came reeling towards the children, knocking in to them like a ton of bricks. Edmund wiggled free from the pile of his siblings, releasing his somewhat scrawny elbow from his sister's side and stood up, moving carefully towards the wardrobe. As he moved, Susan remembered her inability to breathe and shoved at Peter until he noticed what she was doing and rolled off to lie next to her, shooting her an apologetic look.

Susan accepted with a roll of her eyes before turning her head to watch her younger brother curiously. He stood tentatively before the open door of the wardrobe, his eyebrows furrowed and his forehead creased as he examined the wood warily. Edmund then walked in to the wardrobe, pushing away the thick fur coats until he pressed his palm against the hard, cold back. His eyes closed and he bowed his head as disappointment rushed through him. He returned back through the door to face his siblings,

"It's closed" he announced, although they had all had the feeling that would be the case. He fell back down to the floor next to Lucy and wrapped his arms silently around her sister who was staring oddly off in to the distance, unmoving.

The siblings sat in silence, each struggling to take in this absurd turn of events.

Just moments ago hadn't they been riding through a forest, pursuing a brilliant white stag? Just 24 hours ago hadn't they all been meeting with the royals from Telmar, discussing matters of treaties and peace? Just a week ago hadn't the Gentle Queen of Narnia reached her 30th birthday where they celebrated with a lavish ball and danced all night? Just a month ago hadn't the three eldest faced a war against a brutal adversary where each had slaughtered and killed in order to protect their country; while the youngest endured the sight of the wounded and dead, doing everything in her power to save her subjects?

Was it all just a dream? Had it been a trick of their imagination?

No.

None of them believed that.

Not even for a moment.

For they could each recall the sights and smells in immense detail. They could feel the Narnian wind blowing through their hair; they could smell the sea air as they walked along the beach below Cair Paravel; and most of all, each could feel the weight of a metal crown resting on their brow, proving their loyalty to their country.

But still. They each sat here now in the bodies of themselves that they hadn't known for a handful of decades. Their clothes were no longer striking dresses made of the finest silk, nor bold tunics bearing the figure of a golden lion; they were simply dressed as school children, the cloth itchy and unfamiliar to their senses. The long hair of the two girls had been cropped to their shoulders when it had flown halfway down their backs only minutes before.

It was all too much to take in, too much to understand. Had they really been thrown from their home so abruptly? Had Aslan really sent them back to their old world without any explanation or final goodbyes?

So many questions rang through the heads of the Pevensies that it simply hurt to try to think about everything at once.

"I…I don't believe it" was all Susan could choke out, her hands twitching uncomfortably. They moved in a fashion that very lightly resembled a person pulling back an arrow on a bow – but it was so subtle that only her siblings, who knew the reason, would ever catch it.

"There must be a reason why", Lucy whispered, turning to look at her brothers and sister, "Aslan wouldn't do this to us without a reason" she reminded them, a sense of power and command in her voice. The others nodded slowly in agreement, they all trusted the Great Lion without hesitation.

"Of course there is" Peter assured, his voice low and unsure, "but one would think he would have given us some sense of warning. This seems so…uncharacteristic" he confessed, clenching and unclenching his jaw.

"He works in mysterious ways" Edmund stated calmly, resting his chin on Lucy's shoulder but looking pointedly at his brother.

"I barely even remember this place" Susan admitted in such a quiet voice that had the room not been silent, the others would have never heard her. She had clenched her hands together to stop their movement after catching on to their unconscious actions. Susan now stared out the window that sat a few feet above their heads, the ominous clouds darkening the room ever so slightly.

Peter watched the conflict in his sister's eyes before mimicking Ed and putting his arms securely around her. She didn't react to him, but sat like stone in his arms, her eyes following the single raindrop that was making its way down the window.

"I don't really either," Peter confessed as well, "but I feel like I'm remembering a little bit more as each moment passes. It's like the pieces of our life before the wardrobe are fitting back together, slowly but surely".

Their dwellings were momentarily interrupted by the door to the room opening, a woman now stepping through. Each child had to think long and hard to remember who she was and how they knew her,

"Mrs. Macready" Lucy announced, the others knowing it was somewhat for their benefit as the name and person replaced itself in their memory.

"Dinner will be ready in just a bit" she informed them in a sharp, Irish tone, "you're welcome to come down when…or if you'd like" she finished, a bit softer as she took in the expressions on the kids.

"Thank you, but I think we'll pass for tonight" Edmund spoke for the group, knowing full well that neither of them were quite ready to embrace their old world again. They needed a bit more time together; then they would readjust slowly one step at a time to their old lives.

Mrs. Macready nodded and vacated the room, but not before giving each of them an odd, somewhat perceptive look. The siblings calmed visibly, returning to their states of shock.

They sat silently, reveling in the one familiar constant in this situation – each other. The brothers had long ago moved towards one another, bringing their sisters along with them so that they sat in a clump together on the middle of the floor. They were each wrapped in their own thoughts for what felt like hours, until the sun had settled deep below the horizon and the room was engulfed by darkness.

To be quite honest though, they wouldn't have even noticed had it not been for the loud, and most likely intentional, steps of the professor as he moved back to his room to retire for the night.

Peter had sighed wistfully, looking at each of his siblings.

"I suppose we should all get to bed" he suggested, though somewhat hesitantly. The others nodded silently and worked to their feet before they moved in a trancelike fashion out of the room, finally embracing their inevitable surroundings – unwillingly of course, but they embraced it to some extent none the less.

Without much thought, their feet seemed to carry them towards the rooms that they had not been in for years. They stopped first at the girls' room, where the two of them climbed reluctantly in to the small, somewhat lumpy beds. They were obviously ready for sleep though – anything to escape from this new fate. Once the sisters were tucked in to bed, the brothers moved to their room.

As they settled uncomfortably in to their beds and turned off the light, Peter lied on his back, eyes wide open.

"Ed?" he asked carefully.

"Mmm" though the response was vague, Peter was sure his brother was no more asleep then he was.

"Everything's going to be fine you know. It'll take time, but we can do it"

His reassurance was met with silence as the younger pondered the words. He supposed it was true, but it seemed at the moment that they would be taking things one step at a time.

After a time, Edmund's deep and even breathing rang quietly through the small room, indicating that he had fallen asleep. Peter sighed lightly as he rolled on to his side, his mind still racing to fast for him to even consider sleep. Though his thoughts were interrupted by the sound of feet padding on the other side of the door; too light to be the Macready, too sluggish to be the professor. Peter threw up his covers and slipped on his slippers as the conclusion that the only other people in the house were his sisters and Ed (who was soundly asleep) came to him.

He opened the door carefully, to avoid unnecessary squeaking, and followed the sounds of the feet, being wary of stepping lightly himself. After a few moments of pursuit, he entered the sitting room and found a figure sitting on the window seat, staring out in to the night. He approached her carefully, so not to frighten her.

"Can't sleep, Su?" he asked, sitting next to her on the open space. She shook her head,

"I just can't stop thinking about what's happened…happening" she corrected, creasing her brow. Peter didn't speak, knowing that he needed to just let her talk and get things out.

"What's going to happen to us? Are we ever going to go back? What's going to happen to our home, our friends? How much time has passed there already in the few hours we've been away? Minutes? Hours? Weeks? Months? Years? Could another war be going on, without us there to help them? Where do they think we are? Have they already found new royalty? Claimed us dead?" the questions escaped her rapidly, barely allowing her the chance to take a breath.

Peter frowned at the desperate and wild look on her face, but he understood exactly where she was coming from. Those were the exact same questions that had been running through his head since they had tumbled from the wardrobe.

He was about to open his mouth to respond, but then got the feeling that she wasn't yet done.

"I…I don't know what to do here. I don't remember who I was or what I did. I feel like a stranger in my own home" she admitted with a small, mirthless laugh. To call this place home seemed absurd, yet there was no denying what it was.

Sensing the finality in her words, Peter searched for her hand in the moonlight, giving it a light squeeze before speaking.

"I know, Su. We all do" he assured her, "I don't know what's going to happen to us next, but at least we have each other to get through it" Peter reminded her.

"True" Susan responded, feeling relief at the remembrance of her siblings' presence.

"Part of me greatly doubts that that was our final time there – I know we'll go back. Aslan wouldn't simply leave us like this; there must be more to it" Peter told her, who nodded in agreement.

"Yes, I think we'll be going back too. The only problem is when? I don't know how long I can go accepting this place as a home" she frowned.

"We must try though, for Aslan" he said, smiling wistfully at the sound of his battle cry resting on his tongue.

"For Aslan" Susan agreed as she leaned her head on his shoulder.

Though each day would take struggle and they would lose their faith on occasion, they would make it. They would go back, without a doubt in their mind. They would return to their home one day.

**oOoOoOoOo**

**A/N: Just a short piece that popped in to my mind after reading something. Not 100 satisfied and may end up redoing it at some point, but for now, I like it. Reviews make my day :o)**

**-Erin**


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